Powder Highway Road Trip – Stop #6 – Golden Alpine Holidays, BC

A remote lodge trip may be the signature experience of the Powder Highway. Enough of my friends have returned home, minds blown, from a weeklong trip to interior B.C. Few regions in the world are blessed with so much cold, dry snow; and when you’re sequestered for a week surrounded by fine, mountain-loving people who want to shred pow, it’s likely gonna be a REAL good time!

A ten-day mission to the Vista Lodge in the Esplanade Range proved no different. Just off the Powder Highway are numerous remote lodges. Helis or snowcats service some of the lodges, but several others are meant for good ol’ fashion self-powered backcountry touring.

Sam Cohen at Golden Alpine Holidays, British Columbia; Photograph by Will Wissman

Golden Alpine Holidays‘ Vista Lodge is part of a system of huts in the area. A few valleys away from Rogers Pass, Vista sits just above tree-line on a bench overlooking the Columbia trench that divides the Selkirk Mountains from the Canadian Rockies.

Golden Alpine Holidays, British Columbia; Photograph by Will Wissman

Every good hut trip has a ring leader to bring all people together. Photographer Will Wissman rallied a group of ten, pieced together from Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming—some old friends, a few new—all like-minded souls with a passion for getting out and about in the mountains.

Sam Cohen at Golden Alpine Holidays, British Columbia; Photograph by Will Wissman

Golden Alpine Holiday Local Vitals

Why Golden Alpine Holidays rocks: Surrounded by Canada’s highest mountains and two national parks, this place is a ski-touring mecca!

Snowfall: The Esplanade range at the northern end of the Selkirks has an average annual snow fall of about 10-12 meters. (Can you say POW!?!)

Don’t miss the terrain at Vista Lodge: Above the Vista Hut, an alpine cirque has a variety of aspects and picturesque vistas. At and below the lodge offers tree skiing and pillow land galore.

Gourmet casual: It’s a special treat to bring in a chef. Good food always tastes better in the mountains after a big day of earning your turns.

What to bring that might not already be on your packing list: Dark Chocolate, mini speakers, essential oils for pillows and the sauna, and ear plugs

Most valuable item in the lodge: Non-slip lodge slippers

Hut highlight: Drinking water straight from the lake and taking afternoon saunas

Sam Cohen at Golden Alpine Holidays, British Columbia; Photograph by Will Wissman